Ontario Announces Significant Climate Change, Cap-And-Trade, GHG Emissions Legislative Developments

On May 18, 2016, the Ontario government (Government) passed the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016 (Act). The Government says that the Act's objective is to make the province accountable for transparently investing proceeds from the cap-and-trade program into actions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, create jobs and help people and businesses shift to a low-carbon economy.

On May 19, 2016, the Government finalized two new regulations under the Act: The Cap and Trade Program Regulations (Cap-and-Trade Regulations), which will take effect on July 1, 2016, and The Quantification, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations (Emissions Regulations), which will take effect on January 1, 2017. The Emissions Regulations provide the methodology by which participants will quantify and verify their emissions.